"It's great to be young and a Yankee."

The Sports Guy describes the different levels of losing, explaining how certain losses are just categorically more devastating than others.

Then there's a kind of cohort analysis of this evaluation. The Sports Guy focuses on the game itself: the way it plays out, the teams involved, the scoring dyamic and flow. But what if you just focused on one team?

What if you watched an entire season of baseball without paying any attention to what the other team did? I know, I know. It's more than a little impossible unless you just want to completely disregard the defensive half of the inning. But the point is, even if the Rays were shut out tonight, even if the Yankees managed to eke out a W, even if the pitching managed to keep shit together for a few innings...

I don't think it would matter in terms of how this team is making me feel.

There are times when we're watching the Yankees and we're frustrated, because the score is always 10-8 or something, where the Yankees are putting up 12 hits a game. Or maybe the score it 2-0 and the Yankees put up 5 hits, but if you watched the game you'd know that there were at least 15 really well hit balls that just seemed to be hit straight at the fielders.

Those games are frustrating. But not depressing.

Because the final score belies the effort.

For the past few weeks, however, the score hasn't belied the effort. In fact, the effort belies the score. I'm surprised the Yankees are even keeping games close at all. Sorry, you know I hate being all Oscar the Grouch about our boys, and I especially hate attributing fails to a higher order pattern. As a rule, when something bad happens, it's better to treat it as an anomaly. I'm waiting for every boyfriend and girlfriend in the world to follow suit with this philosophy but for the time being, I try to apply it to baseball.

It's hard to do that today. I'm sad because the Yankees are letting us down. They are better than this. It doesn't make any sense. And no one is offering up any kind of explanation.

On July 18, the Yankees had a 10 game lead in the AL East.

Almost 2 months later, the Yankees are tied with the Orioles.

I watched the end of the game with my dad, and he actually looked kind of sad. He's not the world's biggest baseball fan. He wants the Yankees to win, but he doesn't take it personally if they don't. And he says to be (or maybe no one in particular), "The Yankees used to rally all the time. Now they never do."

Yeah, the Yankees hate being in the lead it would appear. Cano homers in the first to put them up by 2. Then the Yankees decided not to score any more.

Upton doubles in Jennings in the 2nd to cut the lead to 1. Longoria homers. Jennings homers. Uptons homers.

I'm not even my usual shaky, manic basketcase right now. I'm just really sad.

After every loss, there are these glossed mentions of these nebullous injuries. Cano misses a grounder yesterday because of a tight hip. Grandy's 0 for 3, with hamstring soreness. Everyone's got something wrong with them. I get that the injuries need to be tended to and all, but good grief, can't you guys just WILL yourselves to play through a strained calf? Or a sore wrist? Or whatever?

You sound like campers who are trying to get out of instructional swim or waitress duty.

So Sweaty Freddy gets the L. 5 hits, 5 runs. First loss since end of July. Not too bad. Also, the bullpen made no mistakes (and Joba pitched, so I'm officially baffled by the Yankees' play patterns. Or lack there of.) The Yankees were also 0-5 with RISP. Lovely.

Jeter, DO SOMETHING. This is when you're supposed to be all Lombardi-y etc.

Girardi was ejected for something stupid having to do with Chris Dickerson, and just shut up Girardi, because a few days ago, you didn't even want to PLAY Dickerson, after the kid accounted for nearly 100% of the team's grossed ribbies. Now all of a sudden you're spitting mad because of...what?

Seriously, what was Girardi even yelling about? Dickerson didn't call timeout. He struck out looking. Once again, there isn no excuse.

The Yankees are running out of time, excuses, options, and gumption.

They spent Labor Day weekend doing anything but laboring, and I was fortunate enough to have Ohyob distracting me from the hellmouth of baseball. But now Ohyob is back to being 279 miles away, and sadly that distance seems paltry when compared to the expanse between the Yankees and their former dominant selves.

MENS SUPER MATERIEM.